Birnesap
The Bruery

Bottle says 14.7% ABV so I'm leaving my review on this one

A: Poured into a snifter to a hazy golden brown that looks a bit like apple cider. the beer is topped by a dense and slightly rocky two fingers of off white head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of sweet pears, port wine, a little oak, and a good bit of caramel sweetness. This is incredibly sweet on the nose
T: Taste is pears up front with some dark fruits and red berries from the port barrels, caramel sweetness, and some spicy yeast as well as a touch of drying oak. On the finish there's more pears, oak, caramel, leather, red berries, and dark fruits with a long finish.
M: This beer has a body which is on the heavier side of medium with slightly effervescent carbonation. It's slightly slick and syrupy on the palate as well. Despite the sweetness the high ABV gives this one a drying finish.
O: this is a nice change of pace from what I'm usually drinking. Great flavors and a surprising amount of complexity given what smelled like a fairly tight and one dimensional nose. I wouldn't mind seeing this become a rotating offering.

really cool idea and a neat beer overall, a little more sexy on paper than it is in the glass, but super neat anyway, the kind of thing i expect from these guys, a strong wheatwine base fermented with pears and aged in white port barrels, nice! a chestnut colored brew without a ton of head from the tap, pretty color though, and less viscous than expected really. crazy nose, less perfume-like than expected, which pear often can do in beer, they seem poached in this instance, sweetened, caramelized, even some kind of grilled notes here, golden raisin fruit sweetness is there too, i still get the green skins but its not crazy estery, subtle taffy and pineapple hard candy to this, white and yellow flower notes, and a boozy fortified thing with the oak, the white port is a cool choice, but there is enough malt to me here that some of that nuance may be covered over, its strong, its sweet, and its really interesting, woody and mature, a little old too. the flavor is pear forward, again sort of cooked to me, sugary, but honest and distinctive, almost like pear cider up front, sweet right away, faintly tangy too i suppose, enhanced by a brown sugar richness from the malt and the white wine character from the barrels, subtle butterscotch and toffee there, even a hint of anise and white pepper spiciness making it cozy to me, honey as well. its cool how well incorporated the pears are, but how obvious they still are. the white port is sweet, slightly soapy, but interesting, with apple and vanilla notes and a fancy vibe overall. cool base beer, huge but pale enough for these special flavors to really stand out. would have loved to try this brand new, and still hope to try the bottled version, but its way cool these guys are bringing these beers to idaho, and this was positively unique, a real fun drinking experience, one of my favorites from the visit. white port barrel treatment is way cool.

 

Interesting blend of strong pear aroma and flavor with brown sugar/caramel flavorings. It works pretty well for such a big sipper of a beer. Recommend.

 

Look: slightly hazy copper. Off white head on the pour.
Smell: bright citrus, some malty wheatwine.
Taste: much like the nose. A clean wheatwine backbone with bright citrus and sweet finish. Very nice summer brew.